Background:With the deepening of researches on etiology of gastrointestinal bleeding,bleeding caused by pancreatic diseases has been understood better by the clinicians. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB)is an uncommon but highly lethal complication of pancreatic diseases. Aims:To analyze the clinical characteristics of UGIB caused by pancreatic diseases for improving the diagnosis and management of this condition. Methods:A total of 22 inpatients who were diagnosed as UGIB caused by pancreatic diseases from Sep. 2010 to Sep. 2016 at Daping Hospital,the Third Military Medical University were recruited and analyzed retrospectively. Results:There were 15 males and 7 females;the disease was more prevalent in young patients than in middle-aged and elderly patients (45. 5% vs. 31. 8% and 22. 7%). The top five causes of bleeding were as follows:stress ulcer related to acute pancreatitis (36. 4%),pancreatic pseudocysts related to chronic pancreatitis (18. 2%),severe acute pancreatitis (13. 6%),post-operative bleeding related to pancreatic surgery (9. 1%)and left-sided portal hypertension (9. 1%). The diagnosis was commonly made by gastroscopy, abdominal contrast-enhanced CT and angiography. Ten patients received medical therapy only,6 were treated by surgical operation,5 by endoscopic hemostasis,and 1 by angioembolization. Hemostasis was achieved in 18 patients (81. 8%), and rebleeding occurred in 4 patients,of which two received medical therapy initially. Two elderly patients died of uncontrollable bleeding and multiple organ failure,respectively. Conclusions:UGIB caused by pancreatic diseases are prone to occur in young and middle-aged males. Pancreatitis and its complications are the major cause of this condition. Medical therapy is ineffective for most of the patients and a multidisciplinary approach of endoscopy,transarterial intervention and surgery is recommended.

Objective To investigate the effects of low dose radiation on dendritic growth of newborn neurons in the hippocampus of young rat.Methods One month-old male rats were randomized into radiation group aind sham control group.Radiation group received whole brain irradiation at a single dose of 2 Gy.Retrovirus expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used to label newborn neurons in the hippocampus through stereotaxic intracranial infusion.Immunofluorescence assays were performed to detect dendritic architecture alterations induced by irradiation at different time points.Results Compared with control group,the lengths of total dendrite and the longest dendrite significantly decreased at 2 and 4 weeks after irradiation (t =3.10,2.07,2.94,4.02,P ＜ 0.05).The branching points of new born neurons were also decreased significantly at 2 weeks post irradiation (t =2.23,P ＜ 0.05).The number of new born neurons reduced at 4 weeks post irradiation (t =8.43,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Low dose radiation could inhibit newborn neuron growth in the hippocampus of young rat,which may be one of the most important mechanisms involved in radiation-induced cognitive impairment.

According to the designed specific primers of gene fragment based on the Salvia miltiorrhiza transcriptome data, with the method of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), this study cloned full-length cDNA sequence of 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate synthase gene from Salvia miltiorrhiza bge.f.alba, this sequence is named as SmHDS and its GenBank registration number is KJ746807. SmHDS, 2 529 bp long, contains an ORF of 2 229 bp, encodes 742 amino acids, including 5' UTR 170 bp and 3' UTR 130 bp. Using bioinformatics software, having made a homology analysis of the obtained sequence, we can have a conclusion that SmHDS have a close genetic relationship with HDS of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Analysis result of prokaryotic expression revealed that in Escherichia coli, SmHDS expressed target proteins which in size are comparable with the protein predicted. Meanwhile, the 4 factors which can influence the protein expression were optimized, the 4 factors are inducing temperature, inducing time, IPTG concentrations and density of inducing host bacterium (A600). The optimal expression conditions of SmHDS were 30 degrees C until the A600 is 0.6, and add IPTG to a final concentration of 0.2 mmol x L(-1), and the induction time of 20 h. It provides theoretical basis for the further study of the function of 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate synthase in the biosynthesis of tanshinone compounds.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of the lentiviral vector (LV)-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) targeting HIF-1α on the expression of HIF-1α and Glut-1 in human pancreatic cancer Patu8988 cells.Methods The RNAi targeting HIF-1α was combined to LV,and transfected into Patu8988 cells.The Patu8988 cells transfected with the empty vector and exposed to 0.5％ O2 for 4 h served as hypoxia negative control,the Patu8988 cells not transfected with vector and exposed to 0.5％ O2 for 4 h as hypoxia blank control,and the Patu8988 cells transfected with LV-RNAi-HIF-1α and exposed to 0.5％O2 for 4 h as experimental group.The expression of HIF-1α was measured by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively.The expression of Glut-1 was measured by RT-PCR.Each group was compared according to oneway analysis of variance and two-sample t test.Results After transfection with LV-RNAi-HIF-1α,HIF-1α mRNA expression decreased by 65.1％ (0.209/0.321) and 80.6％ (0.791/0.982) (t=10.52,15.24,both P＜0.05) under normoxia and hypoxia conditions,meanwhile with the empty vector,HIF-1α mRNA expression decreased by 0.6％ (0.002/0.321) and 7.2％ (0.071/0.982) (t =5.26,7.38,both P＜0.05).Under hypoxia conditions,the protein of HIF-1α in experimental group cells (0.159±0.010) was down-regulated obviously compared to the negative control group (0.745± 0.012) and the blank control group (0.711 ± 0.023)(F=35.52,t =6.72,10.56,all P＜0.05).The expression of Glut-1 mRNA in experimental group cells (0.040±0.003) decreased obviously compared to the negative control group (0.054±0.003) and blank control group (0.062±0.004) (F=35.28,t=5.94,8.55,all P＜0.01).Conclusion Gene silencing of HIF-1α using LV-mediated RNAi can inhibit the expression of HIF-1α and decrease the expression of Glut-1mRNA in Patu8988 cells.

Objective This study is to investigate the changes in the NFATc 4/3 signaling pathway in rat hippocampus after whole brain radiation. Methods A total of 120 one?month?old male Sprague?Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups to receive whole brain radiation using 4?MeV electron beams with doses of 0( control) ,2,10,and 20 Gy,respectively,in a single fraction. At 6 hours,12 hours,1 day,3 days,1 week,and 2 weeks after radiation,Western blot and real?time PCR were used to evaluate the changes in expression levels of CaN, NFATc 4/3, p?NFATc 4/3, and GSK?3β. Results There were no significant changes in the expression of NFATc 4/3 or p?NFATc 4/3 at 6 and 12 hours after whole brain radiation. At 1 day after radiation,compared with the control group,the expression of p?NFATc 4/3 in the radiation groups was significantly increased in a dose?dependent manner ( 2 Gy:P= 0. 014;10 Gy:P=0. 011;20 Gy:P=0. 000 );however, there was no significant difference in the expression of NFATc 4/3 between the radiation group and the control group. The expression of NFATc 4/3 was significantly decreased in the radiation groups than in the control group at day 3 ( 2 Gy:P=0. 040;10 Gy:P=0. 000;20 Gy:P=0. 000),1 week (2 Gy:P=0. 692;10 Gy:P=0. 032;20 Gy:P=0. 021),and 2 weeks (2 Gy:P=0. 001;10 Gy:P=0. 000;20 Gy:P=0. 000) after radiation,while there was no significant difference in the expression of p?NFATc 4/3 between any two groups. There were no time?or dose?dependent changes in expression of CaN or GSK?3β. Conclusions Ionization radiation has an inhibitory effect on the NFATc 4/3 signaling pathway in rat hippocampus. Combined with our previous results,this study suggests that radiation?induced cognitive dysfunction is associated with the NFATc 4/3 signaling pathway.

AIM: To evaluate the alterations in calcium metabolism of the vascular smooth muscle in the late phase of septic shock and test the hypothesis that nitric oxide might be involved in sepsis-induced vascular hyporeactivity. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). 18 hours post CLP,rat aortic rings were employed for measurement of contractile responses by using organ bath technique. RESULTS: In endothelium-denuded aortic rings from CLP rats,concentration-contraction curves to phenylephrine (PE) and KCl were significantly decreased when compared to that from sham control rats. The transient contraction induced by PE in calcium-free Krebs solution and the concentration-dependent contraction to CaCl_2 in KCl-depolarized medium were also markedly reduced. The hyporeactivity was partially reversed by treatment with aminoguanidine,a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. CONCLUSION: An impairment in calcium handling in vascular smooth muscle is involved in the vascular hyporeactivity during the late phase of septic shock,in which an excessive nitric oxide production might be the major mechanism.

Aim To explore the effect of Neu-P11,a novel melatonin agonist with similar function of melatonin,on IOP of acute high IOP animals and the related mechanism.Methods The experiment used the Trendelenburg position(head low feet high position of 80°)to establish acute high IOP model.Rats were placed in the Trendelenburg position and used Tonopen XL contact tonometer to measure IOP(every 5 minutes measured once IOP,and the maximum value in 20 minutes)in 8 :00～9 :00 am.And then,thirty Sprague-Dawley rats(8 week-old)were divided into five groups: normal IOP+normal saline,high IOP+normal saline,high IOP+10 mg·kg-1 Mel,high IOP+20 mg·kg-1 Neu-P11,high IOP+50 mg·kg-1 Neu-P11.Put in a flat to rest 2 h,animals were placed in Trendelenburg position again and then,IOP was measured every hour in the flat by 6 hours.After excessive sodium pentobarbital administration continuous for 1 week,the serum was collected and stored for subsequent detection at the end of the experiment.The level of MDA,SOD and GSH-Px enzyme activity of the rat serum was tested by kit accordingly.HE staining method was used to identify the SD rat retinal morphological changes.Results Trendelenburg position could induce IOP of model group rats,which was increased by 202.9％(P<0.01)and the content of MDA,reduced the activity of SOD and GSH-Px enzyme,retinal thickening was observed and its level was not clear.Neu-P11/Mel could significantly improve oxidative stress level and retinal edema in rats.Conclusion Neu-P11 could reduce IOP of the acute high IOP animals,which might be involved in the lower level of oxidative stress in the body.

Objective To explore the clinical characters,treatment and prognosis of gastrointestinal Dieulafoy lesion in China.Methods Dieulafoy was used as search term,the literatures about Chinese patients with Dieulafoy lesions from January 1998 to October 2016 were retrieved in the Chinese literature library including China National Knowledge Infrastructure,VIP network,Wanfang database and China Biology Medicine disc,and a total of 515 literatures,5 145 patients were enrolled and analyzed.The gender,age,geographical distribution,location of the lesion,treatment and prognosis of the disease were summarized.Results Among the 5 145 patients (male 3 959,female 1 186) with Dieulafoy disease,the ratio of male to female was 3.34∶1.00.The age was from 3 to 95 years,and mean age was 51 years.The lesion location was mainly in stomach (88.82％,4 570/5 145) and second was small intestine (8.28％,426/5 145).In stomach,the lesions were mainly located in gastric corpus,fundus and cardia.The small intestinal Dieulafoy lesions were mainly located in duodenum.The main manifests were sudden hematemesis,melena,and hematochezia.The treatments mainly was endoscopic treatment (72.56％,3 733/5 145),and second was surgery (25.27％,1 300/5 145).Among the5 145 patients withDieulafoy disease,5 099 patients (99.11％) were cured and 46 patients (0.89％) died.The proportions of endoscopic treatment,interventional therapy and first endoscopic treatment within 24 hours in tertiary hospitals were all higher than those of nontertiary (all P＜0.01).The cure rate of tertiary hospitals (99.22％,3 674/3 793) was significantly higher than that of nontertiary hosptials (98.54％,1 421/1 442) (x2 =0.89,P＜0.05) and the mortality was significantly lower than that of nontertiary hospitals (P＜ 0.05).Conclusions The male is more susceptible to Dieulafoy lesion which occurred at any age than the female in China.The predilection sites of Dieulafoy lesion were stomach and duodenum.The primary treatments were endoscopic treatment and surgery,and the disease usually had a good prognosis.

OBJECTIVETo clone and sequence the open reading frame and genomic sequence of squalene synthase (SQS) from Glycyrrhiza uralensis.

METHODThe primers were designed according to cDNA sequence of SQS from G. glabra reported by Hiroaki HAYASHI, SQS cDNA was cloned with total RNA extracted from roots of G. uralensis. Specific fragments were amplified by RT-PCR and then were cloned and sequenced. SQS DNA was cloned with total DNA extracted from roots of G. uralensis. Specific fragments were amplified by PCR and then were cloned and sequenced.

RESULTGuSQS1 (GenBank accession number: GQ266154) was 1 242 bp in length encoding proteins with 412 amino acid. NCBI Blast x search results showed GuSQS1 had the highest amino acid similarity to the corresponding proteins from G. uralensis. The identities of GuSQS1 with the two proteins were 98. 55% and 88. 62%. SQS (GenBank accession number: GQ180932) gene with 4 484 bp containing 13 exons and 12 introns was then amplified by PCR with genomic DNA extracted from roots of G. uralensis.

CONCLUSIONThese findings of cloning and sequencing the open reading frame and genomic sequence of squalene synthase (SQS) from G. uralensis brought some new clues for the further exploration of SmSQS function in sterol and terpenes biosynthesis.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; methods ; DNA, Complementary ; chemistry ; Farnesyl-Diphosphate Farnesyltransferase ; chemistry ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; chemistry ; enzymology ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; enzymology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; methods

In recent years, ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) radiotherapy has become one of the most advanced research topics in the field of radiotherapy. Experimental data indicate that FLASH radiotherapy can significantly reduce the irradiation damage in normal tissues while being as effective as clinical conventional dose rate radiotherapy in tumor control. The oxygen depletion hypothesis is considered as one of the key mechanisms underlying the FLASH effect. In this article, research progress on the discovery, experimental evidence and reaction principle of oxygen depletion was reviewed, the measurement methods and biological effect modeling methods of the oxygen depletion hypothesis were summarized, and the oxygen depletion difference between normal tissue and tumor was also discussed.